Medium access for de-centralized wireless network

ABSTRACT

A method of wireless medium access for establishing a decentralized wireless network, the method comprising broadcasting of beacon frames by each of a plurality of devices; listening, at each device, for beacon frames of other devices; identifying, at each device, other devices who&#39;s beacon frames have been heard; and forming the decentralised wireless network as at least two dynamic networks, each dynamic network being centred around one of the devices and having said other devices who&#39;s beacon frames have been heard by said one device as network members.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates broadly to a method of wireless mediumaccess for establishing a decentralised wireless network, and to adecentralised wireless network.

BACKGROUND

The Open System Interconnection (OSI) standard established by theInternational Standards Organization (ISO) provides a seven-layeredhierarchy between an end user down to a physical device through whichdifferent systems can communicate. Each of these seven layers performsdifferent tasks and they are specified by the OSI standard for theirinter-layer as well as inter-device interaction.

The physical layer defines the physical and electrical characteristicsof the network. It provides the hardware means of sending and receivingdata on a carrier. The data link layer defines the access strategy forsharing the physical medium. It also describes the representation ofbits on the physical medium as well as defining the format of messageson the medium. In addition, it is also responsible for propersynchronization of data sending in blocks (or frames). The network layerprovides a means for communicating open systems to establish, maintainand terminate network. In addition, it also handles routing andforwarding of data to proper destinations. The transport layer managesthe end-to-end control and error checking to ensure complete datatransfer, data reliability and integrity. The session layer provides fortwo communicating presentation entities to exchange data with eachother. The presentation layer is where application data ispacked/unpacked, ready for use by the running application. Protocolconversions, encryption/decryption and graphics expansion also takesplace in this layer. The application layer is where end-user and endapplication protocols such as telnet, ftp and mail (pop3 and smtp) arefound. Here, communication partners, quality of service and anyconstraints on data syntax are identified, and user authentication andprivacy are considered.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802 LAN/MANcommittee, which develops Local Area Network (LAN) and MetropolitanNetwork (MAN) standards, has developed a three-layered architecture thatcorresponds to the physical layer and data link layer of the OSIstandard.

The IEEE 802 standard includes a physical layer (PHY), which essentiallyhas the same role and functionalities as the physical layer of the OSIstandard. The data link layer of the OSI standard is broken down intomedia access control (MAC) layer and logical link control (LLC) layer.Together, the MAC layer and LLC layer shares the same functionality ofthe data link layer of the OSI standard. Individually, the LLC layerplaces data into blocks/frames that can be communicated at the PHY layerwhereas the MAC layer manages communication over the data link, datatransmission and reception, as well as data acknowledgement (ACK)frames.

FIG. 1 shows the block diagram of two wireless networks, for example(100) and (102), each is wireless personal area network (WPAN) thatcould use the IEEE 802 standard. Both networks apply to network settingswhereby bandwidth is to be shared among several users, such as wirelesslocal area networks (WLAN), or any other appropriate wireless network.

In FIG. 1, the first network (100), for example a WPAN, consists of acentral controller (104) of the first network (100), as well asdependent devices, for example (106), (108), (110), (112), that connectto the central controller (104). The radio range (114) of the centralcontroller (104) determines the overall coverage of the first network(100). Each device, for example (106), (108), (110), (112) in the firstnetwork (100) is able to communicate via unidirectional/bi-directionalradio links, for example (116), (118), (120), (122) with the centralcontroller (104). Devices connected to the first network (100) mayestablish direct peer-to-peer unidirectional/bi-directional links, forexample (124), (126) with each other for communication, depending ontheir radio range or security issues. The central controller (104)controls the time allocation and the media access of the first network(100).

Typical wireless networks like the ones illustrated in FIG. 1, that eachhas a central controller to which other dependent devices connects to,use a MAC layer based on centralized control. One such example ofcentralized MAC is the IEEE 802.15.3 High Speed WPAN standard.Centralized control schemes for MAC layer have the key advantage ofpredictability of data throughput performance. This is due to the factthat the central controller allocates and manages the media usage of alldevices in the network. However, centralized control schemes poseproblems as described below.

The main problem of a centralized control is the dependency of alldevices on a central entity for timing allocation. When the centralcontrol device goes out of range or switched off, the wireless networkcollapses unless another device takes over the role of the centralcontroller. Such situations may occur frequently especially in ad hocnetworks where devices are highly mobile. Thus, a centralized controlbased MAC layer is not suitable for ad hoc networks where the devicesare highly mobile.

A second problem with a centralized control scheme is that devices insuch a network are not guaranteed to be able to communicate with peerdevices also in the same network, due to limited radio range. Being in acentralized network only ensures that each device is able to communicatewith the central controller. With reference to FIG. 1, device 5 (112) isin the WPAN (100). To device 5 (112), device 1 (104), 2 (106), 3 (108)and 4 (110) are also in the same WPAN (100). Yet, device 5 (112) canonly communicate with device 1 (104) and not the rest of the members ofthe WPAN (100) due to its range limitation.

A third problem with a centralized control scheme is illustrated usingFIG. 1. Here, the network environment (128) consists of, for example twoWPANs (100) and (102) respectively, centred around controllers device 1(104) and device 6 (130) respectively. Due to the fact that device 4(110) and device 7 (132) belong to different WPANs, ie. (100) and (102)respectively, they are not able to communicate although they arepositionally close to each other. From an end user point of view, forthe case of an ad hoc device, this is an inconvenience issue. Forexample, a typical such scenario will be when a Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA) device placed by a user onto a desk in the office near anotebook PC and digital camera only for the user to find that the PDAcan only communicate with the digital camera because the notebook PC isa member of a separate WPAN centred around another wireless devicefurther away.

A fourth problem associated with a network based around a centralcontroller is the issue of interference from neighbour networks. Withreference to FIG. 1, device 4 (110) is out of range of device 6 (130),which is the central controller of WPAN (102). Likewise for device 7(132), it is out of range of device 1 (104), which is the centralcontroller of WPAN (100). This means that device 1 (104) and device 6(130) has no idea of the existence of device 7 (132) and device 4 (110)respectively as well as their relative close proximity, due to bothbelonging to different networks, for example (100) and (102). Therefore,interference may occur when device 1 (104) or device 3 (108) sends datato device 4 (110) and simultaneously, when device 7 (132) sends data todevice 6 (130). Since device 7 (132) is relatively close to device 4(110), interference may be experienced at the receiving device 4 (110).

SUMMARY

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of wireless medium access for establishing adecentralised wireless network, the method comprising broadcasting ofbeacon frames by each of a plurality of devices; listening, at eachdevice, for beacon frames of other devices; identifying, at each device,other devices who's beacon frames have been heard; and forming thedecentralised wireless network as at least two dynamic networks, eachdynamic network being centred around one of the devices and having saidother devices who's beacon frames have been heard by said one device asnetwork members.

Each device may schedule said each device's beacon frame broadcastingbased on the beacon frames of other devices heard at said each device.

Each device may schedule said each device's next beacon framebroadcasting based on a random time slot chosen about a mean broadcastperiod.

The beacon frame of each device may comprise synchronizationinformation.

The synchronization information in a beacon frame of each device maycomprise scheduled next beacon frame broadcast time information of saideach device.

The synchronization information in a beacon frame of each device maycomprise scheduled next beacon broadcast time information of otherdevices who's beacon frames have been heard by said each device.

Data exchange coordination information may be transmitted by the devicesin the beacon frames.

The data exchange coordination information may be in the form of controlfields piggy-bagged on the beacon frames.

The control fields may comprise data associated with one or more of agroup consisting of a request for data transmission permission, agranting of a data transmission request; an indication that a currentbeacon frame will be followed by a data transmission, an acknowledgementof successful transmission, and an acknowledgement of unsuccessfultransmission.

One device may proceed to transmit a data packet outside a beacon framebroadcast after a data transmission approval is received from areceiving device to which the data packet is to be sent.

A network member list may be maintained and updated by each device forthe dynamic network centered around said each device.

A wireless medium usage forecast list may be maintained and updated byeach device for the dynamic network centered around said each device.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there isprovided a decentralised wireless network comprising a plurality ofdevices, each device broadcasting beacon frames, listening for beaconframes of other devices, and identifying other devices who's beaconframes have been heard by said each device; and at least two dynamicnetworks, each dynamic network being centred around one of the devicesand having other devices who's beacon frames have been heard by said onedevice as network members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be better understood and readilyapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the following writtendescription, by way of example only, and in conjunction with thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing wireless devices connected to two differentcentral controllers in two separate typical networks.

FIG. 2( a) is a diagram showing wireless devices communicating withoutany central controllers in an example embodiment.

FIG. 2( b) is a visibility table showing which device is in range ofwhich other devices in an example embodiment.

FIG. 2( c) is a network membership table showing the member networkdevices of each device in an example embodiment.

FIG. 3( a) is an illustration of superframes divided into medium slots(MSs) in an example embodiment.

FIG. 3( b) is an illustration of the composition of duration MaxMSLengthin each medium slot in an example embodiment.

FIG. 3( c) is a linear time graph showing wireless medium usage bydevices to broadcast beacon frames in an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart showing the processes of devicecommunications in an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a linear time graph showing wireless medium usage by devicesto broadcast beacons frames and perform data exchange in an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the topology of four wireless devices forthe purpose of explaining a “hidden terminal problem” and a “visibleterminal problem” solved in an example embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing wireless medium usage by three devices tobroadcast beacons frames at different start times in an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart illustrating a method of wireless medium accessfor establishing a decentralised wireless network in an exampleembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The example embodiment described herein can provide a method and systemfor addressing one or more of the abovementioned problems in an ad hocmedium access control (MAC) scheme.

The network topology in this example embodiment shown in FIG. 2( a). Asillustrated in FIG. 2( a), no centralized control mechanism is required.In the wireless environment (200) in FIG. 2( a), 7 devices are definedand placed in the same positions as the devices in FIG. 1. The 7 devicesare device 1 (210), device 2 (220), device 3 (230), device 4 (240),device 5 (250), device 6 (260) and device 7 (270). The wireless coverageof these devices are defined by, for example circles (211), (221),(231), (241), (251), (261) and (271) respectively.

Based on the wireless coverage shown in FIG. 2( a), theconnectivity/visibility of each device to another is tabulated in FIG.2( b). In the visibility table (280) in FIG. 2(b), a tick indicatesvisibility between the row device and the column device. A crossindicates that the row device and column device are out of range.

From the visibility table (280) in FIG. 2( b), a network membershiptable (290) can be constructed as shown in FIG. 2( c). When a device isvisible, the broadcast beacon from that device can be heard, and thuscan be considered a network member by any devices that can hear itsbeacon. In the network membership table (290) as shown in FIG. 2( c),all devices that are visible (and hence a member device) to each devicein the wireless environment (200) as shown in FIG. 2( a) are tabulated.

Previously using a centralized control protocol, as shown in FIG. 1,device 4 (110) and device 7 (132) are unable to communicate (althoughwirelessly they are in range) due to the fact that they belong todifferent networks, or more specifically in this example embodiment,different WPANs, for example (100) and (102). Using a decentralizedcontrol protocol in this example embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2( a),device 7 (270) belongs to device 4's (240) network (241), as shown innetwork membership table (290) in FIG. 2( c). Likewise, device 4 (240)belongs to device 7's (270) network (271), as shown in networkmembership table (290) in FIG. 2( c). Since every device is now able tocommunicate with any device that is a member of their network, device 4(240) and device 7 (270) are now able to communicate in the exampleembodiment. Decentralized control protocol may thus solve the problem aspreviously highlighted in FIG. 1.

In the example embodiment, a decentralised control scheme has beendeveloped for use in a MAC layer. In a decentralised control network,there is no central controller to allocate network time or manage thesharing of the bandwidth. Distributed media access protocol is usedwhereby each device follows a standard media access protocol to manageits own network access time.

In the example embodiment, each device can implement its own controlsystem, independent of other devices in the decentralised network. Inthe example embodiment, at the network level, the network comprises aNetwork Management Protocol (NMP) and a Data Exchange CoordinationProtocol (DECP) to define a minimum set of decentralized controlprotocol for ad hoc wireless communication.

In this example embodiment, beacon frames are commonly used by devicesto broadcast information. A beacon frame is a control data framebroadcasted by every device to advertise their existence, announce theirscheduled next broadcast time as well as announcing their neighbourdevices' scheduled next beacon broadcast time to serve as an advice toother devices to not to try to transmit beacon or data at that time. Inaddition, the beacon frame is also used to send handshake signals tocoordinate the set up and the maintenance of isochronous data transfersession. It is the only control frame that is sent between any devicesin the network. Any other frames are considered as data frames. In theexample embodiment, every device can broadcast its beacon frame at thesame period interval. The period of time between consecutive beacons isknown as the superframe. In other words, every device's superframeduration may be equal. In addition, the superframe may be divided into afixed number of equal medium slots (MS). The DECP can maintain the MSstart time between different devices.

As mentioned above, in this example embodiment, for every device, mediumaccess time may be divided into a fixed-sized superframe. As illustratedin FIG. 3( a), each superframe (300), may itself be divided into afinite number (MaxNumMS) of MSs, for example (302) and (304), ofduration MaxMSLength (320) each. With reference to FIG. 3( b), the valueof MaxMSLength (320) will be explained in later paragraphs. It is notedthat the value of MaxMSLength (320) may depend on other PHY constantsand variables that. In the example embodiment, the exact value ofMaxNumMS is flexible and is implementation and PHY dependant. In theexample embodiment, the first MS (301) of a device's superframe (300) isused for beacon transmission. In the example embodiment, only the MSstart time will be synchronized between devices but not the superframestart time.

In the example embodiment, the device may choose an available MS tobroadcast its beacon. In the example embodiment, with reference to FIG.3( b), to broadcast a beacon, a device may generate a random delay inthe range between zero and a predefined constant so as to generate abeacon contention window, MaxBeaconCW (322). The device may thencontinue listening to the medium and proceed to count down the randomdelay. If the countdown reaches zero and if no other beacons are heardduring the countdown, the device may proceed to transmit its beacon.

Conversely, if the medium is sensed to be busy before the countdownreaches zero, the countdown may then be temporarily suspended until thestart of the next MS. When the next MS starts in the example embodiment,the countdown may be resumed and may continue until the beacon istransmitted. A reason for resuming the countdown instead of restartingit in the example embodiment is to give priority to devices that aresupposed to broadcast their beacons but were interrupted by yet otherearlier scheduled beacons or data transmissions.

With reference to FIG. 3( b), MaxMSLength (320) is derived fromMaxBeaconCW (322), MaxBeaconTXTime (324) and RXTXTurnaroundTime (326).As previously described, MaxBeaconCW (322) is the maximum beaconcontention window in the example embodiment. This may be the upper-boundvalue for the generation of a random delay prior to the broadcast of abeacon. In the example embodiment, MaxBeaconTXTime (324) may be themaximum amount of time required for the complete transmission of abeacon frame while RXTXTurnaroundTime (326) may be the maximum timerequired by the PHY to change from receiving to transmitting the startof the first symbol of each beacon frame.

In the example embodiment, synchronization of MS start times means thatevery device may transmit beacons periodically and independently fromother devices, as shown in FIG. 3( c). With reference to FIG. 3( c), 3devices, namely device-1 (306), device-2 (308) and device-3 (310) areshown to be broadcasting beacons, for example, (312), (314) and (316)respectively, at different start times. Note that in the exampleembodiment, devices will avoid broadcasting beacons at slots, forexample (318), that may be known to be used by other devices.

In the example embodiment, every device can define a wireless networkcentred around itself where each network may be maintained by the NMP.This arrangement may include the broadcasting of beacon frames in adistributed manner and the maintenance of a dynamic list of deviceswhose beacon frames can be heard by the local device. In addition, theNMP may define a method of beacon collision resolution.

In the example embodiment, the DECP can provide a protocol where datamay be exchanged. The protocol may define two methods whereby data canbe exchanged. One method is via a random access method while the othermethod is via channel time reservation using beacons. It is noted thatthe second method using beacons may be useful for devices that need toexchange data on a periodic basis.

With reference to FIG. 4, in the example embodiment, upon power up(402), a device, using the NMP, proceeds to (403) initialization ofitself and listening (404) on the communication medium for at least 2superframes for the beacons of other devices. During instances wherethere are no broadcasts scheduled by all the devices in a network, thedevice will enter an idling mode (406) after listening (404) on thecommunication medium. With reference to FIG. 4, in the exampleembodiment, during idling (406), every device may be listening (404) tothe wireless medium as described previously for beacon broadcasts fromnew or old devices to their network to note beacon scheduling times ofthe devices, DECP control parameters, and also for any data packet thatmight be sent to them. In the example embodiment, devices can choose tooperate in a power saving mode. In this option, idling devices are notrequired to listen to the wireless medium for the entire superframeduration. In the example embodiment, devices in the power saving modewake up periodically to transmit their beacons and listen to apre-defined window for any requests for the devices to wake for dataexchange. If there are beacons heard, the device will take note of thedevice presence information as well as the next beacon transmissionschedule of other devices, if any, that is included in each beacon. Inaddition, if there are beacons heard, the device will synchronize itsown MS start time with the beacon with the earliest clock. Thesynchronization process is further described later. In the event wherethere are no beacons heard, the device may set its own MS start time.

The NMP, which may be implemented by every device independently, canhandle the channel time management, beacon broadcast scheduling as wellas dynamically update member devices in its own network. In the exampleembodiment, it is also responsible for advertising itself in thewireless environment as well as discovering other nearby wirelessdevices. To resolve the problem of possible interference that may befaced in situation where two devices that are out of range of each otherbut are both in range with the local device and both trying to broadcasttheir beacons at the same time, the local device may also include in itsbeacon any next beacon broadcast schedule that it has heard.

In the example embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the NMP starts byfirst listening (404) to the wireless medium to find out if there areany other devices currently broadcasting beacons. Upon receiving anyincoming beacons (408), the NMP will update the device schedule listbased on any received next beacon broadcast forecast (410).Subsequently, in the example embodiment, the devices broadcasting anyincoming beacons received at stage (408), as the NMP updates the device(412) member list. For example, for a single beacon received, thescheduled next broadcast times of that device sending out the beacon andany other neighbouring devices also included in the beacon, as well asdata exchange control information will be noted by the NMP.

In the example embodiment, with the information received from thebeacons by other devices, if any, the NMP may initialise the devicebeacon timer (414) to schedule a time to broadcast a beacon as well asscheduling a time offset from this current beacon broadcast for the nextbeacon broadcast (416). Both of these processes, example (414) and(416), may be scheduled at a time not already scheduled for beaconbroadcast or data transfer by other devices. In scheduling the nextbroadcast time, for example (416), each device in the example embodimentshould generate a random time offset about a mean broadcast period. Themean broadcast period however can change dynamically during operation.The reason for randomization of time offset about a mean broadcastperiod is to resolve cases when two devices broadcast at the exact sametime with an exact broadcast period. In that case, both beacons willalways overlap completely and both devices may never get to hear eachother's beacon due to endless interference.

With reference to FIG. 4, after scanning the wireless medium andassembling the device beacon frame (417), the NMP in the exampleembodiment may choose a time period that is not scheduled for beaconbroadcast or data transfer, to broadcast the device beacon (418).Through broadcasting this beacon, the network management system achievesthe purpose of advertising the local device as well as the nextbroadcast period of the device. Devices that hear this beacon may avoidcontenting the media access at the scheduled next beacon broadcast timesincluded in the beacon. Subsequently, after broadcasting the devicebeacon (418), the NMP will set the next beacon timer expiry (420).

In the example embodiment, after a device forms a network with someneighbour devices using the NMP, data exchange through a sequence ofrequest, response, transmit and acknowledge is carried out. The beaconframe as previously described is used to transport the DECP controlsignals. These control signals are required to be received by alllistening devices in range and are not limited to only devicesparticipating in the data exchange. In this way, a “hidden terminalproblem” and a “visible terminal problem” may be solved. The twoabove-mentioned problems which may be solved by DECP beacon broadcast inthis example embodiment will be described in latter paragraphs.

In the example embodiment, the data request and response control signalsof the DECP perform typically like the Request-To-Send/Clear-To-Send(RTS/CTS) in a typical IEEE 802.11 protocol control signal except thatthe typical RTS/CTS signals in IEEE 802.11 are specific and dedicatedcontrol signal frames sent to coordinate data transfer. The data requestand response control signals of the DECP in this example embodiment arecontrol signals “piggy-bagged” on top of a beacon frame instead of beingspecific control signal frames.

Being similar to the RTS/CTS in a typical IEEE 802.11 protocol controlsignal, the data request and response control signals in the exampleembodiment may work as follows. With reference to FIG. 4, theoriginating device that wishes to send outgoing data (422) to thedestination device will first process (424) the data to be sent. Theoriginating device will then generate and add on a data request controlsignal in its next beacon broadcast. This is to include a flag for datarequest in the device next beacon (426). If there are no other scheduledactions for the originating device, it may enter the idling mode (428).The data request control signal may comprise information on the data tobe transferred including data transmission time required and the addressof the destination device.

With reference to FIG. 4, the destination device that wishes to receiveincoming data (430) may provide a reply on its next beacon by generatingand adding on a data response control signal in its next beaconbroadcast. This is to include a flag for data acknowledgement in thedevice next beacon (436). If there are no other scheduled actions forthe destination device it may enter the idling mode (438). This dataresponse control signal may comprise of whether the data request controlsignal has been granted or not and if granted, the data response controlsignal may include the data transmission time allowed and the address ofthe originating device.

In the example embodiment, with reference to FIG. 4, for a device thathas received an incoming beacon (408), after the NMP updates the devicenumber list (412) the NMP will determine if there is any data requestpresent in the beacon. If there is any data request present, the DECPwill process the data request (442) and will update the device schedulelist (444). After the NMP determines if there is any data request (440),it will next determine if there is any data response present (446). Ifthere is any data response available, the DECP will process the dataresponse (448) and will update the device schedule list (450). The NMPwill next determine if any data transmission is available (452) in theincoming beacon. If there is, the NMP will update the device schedulelist (454). The NMP will then determine if there is any dataacknowledgement present (456). If there is any data acknowledgementpresent, the DECP will process the data acknowledgement (458). In theevent where there are no other scheduled actions for the devicereceiving the incoming beacon at stage (408), the device actions for thedevice receiving the incoming beacon at stage (408), the device mayenter the idling mode (460).

In the example embodiment, with reference to FIG. 4, for a device thathas broadcasted its beacon at stage (418) and after it has set the nextbeacon timer expiry (420), the NMP will determine if the device has anypending outgoing data (462). If there is not, it will proceed to updatethe device schedule list (464). If there are any pending outgoing dataat stage (462), the NMP will determine it has received any positive dataresponse (466). If there is no positive data response at stage (466),the NMP will proceed to update the device schedule list (464). If thereis any positive data response at stage (466), the DECP will process theoutgoing data (468) and set the data acknowledgement pending flag (470).The NMP will then proceed to update schedule list (464). In the eventwhere there are no other scheduled actions for the device that hasbroadcasted its beacon at stage (418), the device may enter the idlingmode (472).

In the example embodiment, for devices that failed to hear this beacon,there are a few possibilities. The first possibility is that suchdevices are out of range. In this case, since beacons from such deviceswill not be heard by the local device and this means that the remotedevices will not contribute to any interference at the receiver of thelocal device. With reference to FIG. 2( a), two such pairs of device aredevice 5 (250) and device 6 (260), and device 1 (210) and device 7(270).

Another possibility why devices might not be able to hear the beaconbroadcasted by a local device may be due to interference by othertransmitting devices also in range. These interfering devices may fallinto 2 categories.

The first category may comprise devices that are not using the mediaaccess protocol of the present invention. Depending on the protocol usedby these devices (which can be a very broad range), differentcoexistence mechanism may be incorporated into the protocol as describedin the example embodiment. However, this is not currently in the scopeof the present invention.

The other category of devices may comprise of devices using the mediaaccess protocol of the example embodiment. There are a couple of reasonswhy these devices using the same protocol might be interfering with thecurrent beacon broadcast of the local device despite the fact that theyare in range and should not be transmitting anything during this time.

One reason may be that this interfering device is out of range of thedevice that is broadcasting its beacon but both devices are transmittingto a common device in range. With reference to FIG. 2( a), considerdevice 1 (210), device 3 (230) and device 5 (250). Interference willoccur at receiving device 1 (210) when device 3 (230) and device 5 (250)are broadcasting beacons at relatively close timing.

Another reason why devices using the protocol in this example embodimentmight be interfering with the current beacon broadcast of a device maybe due to the fact that the interfering device and/or the beaconbroadcasting device has just arrived into radio range of the receivingdevice.

However, in both cases described above, the current beacon beingbroadcasted may be missed but the randomization of the beacon broadcasttime will ensure that both the interfering and broadcasting devices willeventually broadcast their beacons at a different time in the exampleembodiment. Synchronization of broadcasting may then be maintainedsubsequently.

In the example embodiment, in the case where the interfering device andthe beacon broadcasting device are out of range of each other but bothbroadcasting to a receiving device in range of both, once both theirbeacons are broadcasted at a different time due to randomization, thereceiving device will be able to hear both the beacons and willbroadcast its beacon together with the scheduled next beacon broadcasttime of itself and the two broadcasting devices. Both devices may thenbe able to hear that beacon and avoid interference from then on, thusimplementing synchronization of broadcasting.

In the example embodiment, for the case where interference happenedbecause both interfering devices have just arrived into range, themoment both interfering devices start broadcasting their beacons atdifferent times due to randomization, each will hear the beacon of theother device and make adjustments to its beacon scheduling to ensure nointerference thereafter.

FIG. 5 illustrates how a beacon is scheduled by the NMP in the exampleembodiment and broadcasted by the network management system by means ofa linear time graph (500). The blocks marked by the letter ‘B’ arebeacon frames broadcasted in the wireless medium. In this illustration,device 1 (210), device 2 (220), device 3 (230), device 4 (240) anddevice 5 (250) from FIG. 2( a) are considered for their relativepositions to one another. For illustration in FIG. 5, it is assumed thatall these devices are being switched on at the same time.

In an arbitrary situation, device 1 (210), device 2 (220) and device 5(250) may broadcast their beacons, for example (502), (504) and (506)respectively as illustrated in FIG. 5, at the same time. Device 5 (250),after broadcasting beacon (508) (i.e. no longer interfering with device1's (510) beacon), can always hear beacons from device 1 (210) sincethere are no other interfering devices in its range as illustrated inFIG. 2( a). Therefore its subsequent beacons, for example (510) and(512), will not interfere with device 1's (210) beacons.

With reference to FIG. 2( a), for device 3 (230), it is unable to heardevice 1's (210) and device 2's (220) beacons, for example (502) and(504) respectively due to interference as illustrated in FIG. 5, as itis noted that both beacons, for example (502) and (504), are broadcastedat the same time. Device 4 (240) is able to hear device 1's (210) beacon(502) because device 2 (220) is out of range. In addition, device 4(240) is able to hear device 3's (230) beacon (514) and thus able toschedule itself such that its beacon broadcast will not clash withbeacon (516).

Due to randomization in this example embodiment, device 3 (230) will notinterfere with device 1 (210) and device 2 (220) beacons, for example(518) and (520) respectively. Thereafter, device 1 (210) and device 2(220), after hearing device 3's (230) beacon (516) will shift theirbeacons (for example beacon (518) for device 1 (210) and (520) fordevice 2 (220) respectively) broadcasts to avoid any interferenceproblems. After device 2's (220) beacon (520) is broadcasted, the wholesystem in the example embodiment may then reach a synchronized state inthe subsequent beacon broadcasts.

FIG. 6 illustrates a “hidden terminal problem” and a “visible terminalproblem” that may be solved by the DECP in the example embodiments.Consider 4 wireless devices, namely device A (602), device B (604),device C (606) and device D (608) lying in a straight line in thewireless space (610), and whose wireless range are denoted by thecircles, for example (612), (614), (616) and (618) respectively.

With reference to FIG. 6, a “hidden terminal problem” will occur if bothdevice B (604) and device C (606) are to transmit information to deviceA (602) simultaneously. This may be due to the fact that device B (604)and device C (606) are out of range of each other and hence have nomeans of directly communicating their intention of transmittinginformation to device A (602).

In a similar arrangement, when device A (602) wishes to transmitinformation to device B (604) and since device C (606) is within deviceA's (602) range, device C (606) will detect device A's intention totransmit information. Consider the situation where device C (606) wishesto transmit information to device D (608). However, due to its knowledgethat device A (602) is transmitting information to a device B (604) butdoes not have the knowledge that device B (604) is out of range ofitself and also that device D (608) is out of range of device A (602),it will not proceed to transmit any information to device D (608) toavoid any potential interference. This problem of withholdingtransmission when there is no interference problem is typically known asa “visible terminal problem”.

With regards to the “hidden terminal problem”, the DECP may be able tosolve this problem by providing devices that cannot hear the originatingdevice, but being in range of the destination device, with the detailsof any information exchange that may be about to take place through thebeacon broadcast. These other devices may then adjust their beaconbroadcast schedules as well as any similar scheduling to send data tothe destination device, thus solving the abovementioned problem.

With regards to the “visible terminal problem”, the DECP may be able tosolve the problem by informing devices that are in range of theoriginating device but not in range of the destination device. This maybe done by broadcasting the relevant addresses via the originatingdevice's data response that the destination device is out of range.These devices will then have the knowledge that no interference willresult if data beacon broadcast or data exchange to another nearbydevice is performed, thus solving the abovementioned problem.

FIG. 7 illustrates data exchange between three devices, with referenceto FIG. 6 for their network topology. With reference to FIG. 7, there isillustrated a linear time graph (700) on how data exchange takes placefor 3 devices, namely device A (602), device B (604) and device C (606),with reference to FIG. 6 for their relative positions. In FIG. 7,consider the case where both device B (604) and device C (606) arescheduling transmission of data to device A (602) at the same time, forexample scheduled beacon slots (702) and (704) respectively. Device B(604) and device C (606) will both tag the data request control fieldonto their beacons, for example, (706) and (708) respectively as shownin FIG. 7. In this example embodiment, device A (602) accepts the datarequest from device B (604) and provides a data response in its nextbeacon (710) comprising a positive data response to device B (604) and anegative data response to device C (606).

Subsequently in the example embodiment, device C (606) will receiveinformation that its data request was rejected and also information thatdevice B (604) will be broadcasting its beacon (702) followed by datatransmission in data slot (712) to device A (602). This information isdeduced from the next beacon broadcast schedule of device B (604) andpositive data response to device B (604) broadcast by beacon (710) fromdevice A (602). Device C (606) will therefore not broadcast its beaconat the next scheduled slot (704). Device C (606) will also not transmitdata to device A (602) in its requested but rejected data slot (714).Device C will instead reschedule its next beacon broadcast to anavailable slot (716). In this beacon timing (716), device C (606) willcontinue to send its data request signal to device A (602).

Concurrently, in the example embodiment, Device B (604), having receiveda positive data response from beacon (710) of device A (602), willproceed to broadcast its beacon (702) as well as to transmit data indata slot (712) to device A (602). It may further generate a new datarequest signal in beacon (702) to send another data packet in its nextdata slot (718), after its next scheduled beacon (720).

Following synchronization of device B (604) and device C (606), duringdevice A's (602) next beacon broadcast (722), device A (602) may grantboth device C's (606) and device B's (604) data requests made inbeacons, for example, (716) and (702) respectively. Device C (606) anddevice B (604) can then proceed to broadcast their beacons, for example,(724) and (720) respectively, followed by data transmission at theirdata slots, for example, (725) and (718) respectively.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart illustrating a method of wireless medium accessfor establishing a decentralised wireless network in an exampleembodiment. At step (800), beacon frames are broadcasted by each of aplurality of devices, and at step (802), each device is listening forbeacon frames of other devices. At step (804), each device, isidentifying other devices who's beacon frames have been heard, and atstep (806), the decentralised wireless network is formed as at least twodynamic networks, each dynamic network being centred around one of thedevices and having, said other devices who's beacon frames have beenheard by said one device as network members.

With the protocols described above in the example embodiments, devicescan enter the wireless space of several devices, start to discover themand may exchange information quickly without the concept of “connectingto a network” or be limited to the limitations of a centralisedcontroller. Decentralized ad hoc medium access control may be thus beachieved in the example embodiments above.

It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the present invention asshown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodimentsare, therefore, to be considered in all respects to be illustrative andnot restrictive.

1. A method of wireless medium access for establishing a decentralizedwireless network, the method comprising: broadcasting of beacon framesby each of a plurality of devices; listening, at each device, for beaconframes of other devices; identifying, at each device, other deviceswho's beacon frames have been heard; and forming the decentralizedwireless network as at least two dynamic networks, each dynamic networkbeing centred around one of the devices and having said other deviceswho's beacon frames have been heard by said one device as networkmembers.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each deviceschedules said each device's beacon frame broadcasting based on thebeacon frames of other devices heard at said each device.
 3. The methodas claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein each device schedules said eachdevice's next beacon frame broadcasting based on a random time slotchosen about a mean broadcast period.
 4. The method as claimed in claim2, wherein the beacon frame of each device comprises synchronizationinformation.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein thesynchronization information in a beacon frame of each device comprisesscheduled next beacon frame broadcast time information of said eachdevice.
 6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the synchronizationinformation in a beacon frame of each device comprises scheduled nextbeacon broadcast time information of other devices who's beacon frameshave been heard by said each device.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 1wherein data exchange coordination information is transmitted by thedevices in the beacon frames.
 8. The method as claimed in claim 7,wherein the data exchange coordination information is in the form ofcontrol fields piggy-bagged on the beacon frames.
 9. The method asclaimed in claim 8, wherein the control fields comprise data associatedwith one or more of a group consisting of a request for datatransmission permission, a granting of a data transmission request; anindication that a current beacon frame will be followed by a datatransmission, an acknowledgement of successful transmission, and anacknowledgement of unsuccessful transmission.
 10. The method as claimedin claim 7, wherein one device proceeds to transmit a data packetoutside a beacon frame broadcast after a data transmission approval isreceived from a receiving device to which the data packet is to be sent.11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a network member list ismaintained and updated by each device for the dynamic network centeredaround said each device.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein awireless medium usage forecast list is maintained and updated by eachdevice for the dynamic network centered around said each device.
 13. Adecentralized wireless network comprising a plurality of devices, eachdevice broadcasting beacon frames, listening for beacon frames of otherdevices, and identifying other devices who's beacon frames have beenheard by said each device; and at least two dynamic networks, eachdynamic network being centred around one of the devices and having otherdevices who's beacon frames have been heard by said one device asnetwork members.